The present invention relates to the control of room air conditioner units, and more particularly, to a remote control system having a delayed operation mode for the control of an air conditioning unit.
Room air conditioning units provide an alternative to central air conditioning systems in apartment buildings, offices and homes where it is either impractical or prohibitively expensive to install them. An important consideration of the purchase and installation of an air conditioning unit is the cost of operating the unit. An inefficiently operated air conditioner can result in substantial energy costs.
The remote control units for control of air conditioners have been developed successfully. Not only does a remote control provide the operator with freedom of movement while controlling the room air conditioner, but further provides easy access to the controls. Specifically, prior controls for a room air conditioner unit were normally placed on the surface of the unit, while the unit was placed at a high, low, or awkward position in the room. A remote control unit, therefore, does not require the operator to reach up or bend down to operate the unit. Further, remote controls do not require space on the surface of the air conditioner.
A problem in air conditioner operation is controlling different modes of operation on a delayed basis. For example, the user may wish a room to be cool by the time he or she arrives home from work. In this instance, some type of delayed setting is necessary so that the room air conditioner does not operate all day just to ensure a cool room upon arrival. Additionally, the operator may wish to control and program alternative modes and times of operation.
Remote control of room air conditioners is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,665. This remote control unit is utilized for operating a test run of the air conditioner. A wireless remote controller utilizes a microprocessor for transmitting operating data to an air conditioner and a receiving circuit for receiving data from the air conditioner relating to its operation. No means is provided to allow the user to pre-program a room air conditioner to start a cooling cycle at some future time. This type of remote controller further does not allow the user to set various operation parameters independent from the current operational mode of the room air conditioner.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,973 discloses a programmable thermostat to store particular programs and temperatures. This programmable thermostat does not allow input of particular program settings to vary operational parameters of the room air conditioner other than temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,461 relates to another programmable thermostat control for use with an air conditioner or heat pump unit. This control utilizes programmable time counters to control on/off modes of the unit. No remote control is utilized in which programming by the operator may be retained in memory for later retrieval and use.
The present invention is directed to overcome the aforementioned problems associated with remote control of room air conditioners, where it is desired to provide a user friendly interface for selection of delayed operation modes, without interfering with the current mode of the room air conditioner.